The application of electrical signals to various portions of the body for such purposes as organ and nerve stimulation and pain alleviation is well known. Such signals have been applied transcutaneously by external stimulators as well as internally with implantable devices. When it can be effectively implemented, the use of transcutaneous stimulation eliminates the need for surgery.
Many transcutaneous stimulators are known to the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,254, issued June 18, 1974 to Donald D. Maurer for Transcutaneous Stimulator and Stimulation Method, shows such a system for organic pain suppression which delivers output pulses each having a plurality of frequency components concentrated within a specified frequency range. Other, more recent, devices are well known.
Among the problems encountered in transcutaneous stimulation are power surges delivered to the patient, which may result from failure or malfunction of the stimulator, and unnecessarily short battery life resulting from the use of inefficient components and circuit designs.